Vincentian Vanessa Layne covers Dionne Warwick’s ‘Whisper in the Dark’

St. Vincent & the Grenadines’ own Vanessa Layne is revisiting her love for singing after a 30 year hiatus spent pursuing other interests.

Vanessa’s cover of Dionne Warwick’s Whisper in the Dark, a pop ballad originally released in 1985, is easy, breezy and unforced.

Produced and engineered by Mark Cyrus of Masteroom, Vanessa takes a light approach, effortlessly resisting over singing. Her version is emotive enough to provide a personal listening experience, without taking herself too seriously, delivering a vocally strong performance well suited to the track.

Of the three upcoming versions to be released, my personal favorite is the acoustic. This bare stripped down version is the perfect showcase for her soothing, light, airy vocals.

However the pop version, which drops today, is more radio friendly. While it remains true to the original musical production, Vanessa’s vocal interpretation is reminiscent of 80s pop without Warwick’s bluesy overtones, or the angst of those times.